I watched Sherlock Holmes Season 1 episode 1 on Wednesday during the Story Lab class. I am originally a crime and mystery fiction lover, so watching Sherlock Holmes reminded me of my childhood favourite Japanese manga and anime, Detective Conan (also known as Case Closed). Just a tiny bit of spoiler, Edogawa Conan, whose real name is actually Shinichi Kudo, a 17-year-old high school student/detective, noticed two mysterious men at the theme park and decided to follow them. Unfortunately, his presence was quickly revealed and the men fed him a pill (while he was in an unconscious state) which was supposed to kill him but his form shrank into a kid’s body instead. Trying his best not to reveal his real identity to investigate the two suspicious men and their dark organization, Black Organization, he decided to live on with the name Edogawa Conan.
Back to the topic, why did watching Sherlock Holmes reminded me of Detective Conan is because his favourite author was Sir Conan Doyle, who was the well-know detective Sherlock Holmes’s creator. During the first half of the episode, my first impression of Holmes was someone who is observant, of course, since he’s a detective. He is also strong-headed, doesn’t listen to anyone, and he’s got his theories right always, which is why it makes the police don’t like him even more. I also thought he’s quite a warm character, though not obvious, is that he trusts Watson and he’s a lot more protective over Watson that he seems. The chemistry between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson is slowly developing, and I wonder what kind of challenges will they be facing, will there be any situation that will break the bond, and that’s what makes me look forward to the next episode. (But the fact that SH is now at Season 3, though Season 4 is coming soon, each season has only 3 or 4 episodes makes me feel sooooo sad!!)
Well, it was hard to get it started, honestly, since it is a short-story and there’s a limit of 800 words. I am not familiar with short-story writing concept since I’ve been writing with no word limit since secondary school, so I reread Lamb to the Slaughter. I liked the way how Roald Dahl gave so much space for me to imagine what was the husband trying to tell the wife, or if he managed to tell her, how would her reaction be like, or what if she had a different reaction when she had sensed what was coming up next, would there be a different ending. I thought that was the tip of writing a good short-story, so I tried using the same method.
I tried to picture the situations that had happened around me, but as soon as I started, I deleted it, because even I thought it was really ‘interesting’. So I thought of creating a situation that might happen, and if it really happens (though I really wish not), what am I going to do? What are the actions that I’m going to take and are the chances high for me to achieve my objectives in that situation? Will I get shaken up or will I be steady enough to get through all the obstacles? I wonder.
P.s. I came across this quote one day while surfing the net, and this is my inspiration to my short-story.
Love your parents. We are so busy growing up, but we often forget they are also growing old.
-Unknown-
It was the first week of the semester in 2016, everything was so different compared to the system that I had back in Advanced Diploma. We had to decide on the major, the studio and the electives. This is a different experience for me and I actually felt like I’m living an undergrad student’s life for the first time.
We were asked to read two books and a short story in the first class: The Substance of Story by Robert Mckee, The Philosophy of the Short-story by Brander Matthews and Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl. Among the three readings, I enjoyed reading The Substance of Story the most as I can relate the most to Mckee’s words. He specifically broke down the characteristic of a protagonist into many parts, which was something that I have never thought of when writing a story. I know how important it is for the protagonist to have an aim or objectives but the way Mckee explained why the protagonist may have a self-contradictory unconscious desire really clicks in my head, and that’s when I thought this could be the tip to write a better story.